Kick-Ass - #2: Issue Two (Marvel 2/2008)
Plot Summary
Overview
Sickening violence...just the way you like it. The most screwed-up superhero comic of all time continues in what's sure to be the most exciting launch of 2008. What would happen if you tried to be a super hero? What would happen when an ordinary man in a latex suit comes face-to-face with the criminal underworld? Read about super heroes like you've never seen them before and feel happy that you are living here right now when this book is being published. Your grandchildren will only envy you. Comics just don't get better than this.
Spoilers
Last issue, Dave got his ass kicked and lies in the hospital. Coming to, he worries about what his father must think. Luckily when the ambulance arrived, they found him lying there naked. It seems Dave had the strength to remove his costume despite his broken back and legs.
They all figure he was mugged. He undergoes several surgeries, metal plates fitted inside his head, months of counseling, and weeks of rehabilitation. He now gets why there aren't real superheroes in the world.
At home, Dave's dad has set up his room with a dvd player and computer to do his schoolwork. He cries when he realizes the amount of money his dad had to spend over all this. Two months later he is able to go back to school. One night he gets angry and burns all his comics and swears he will never do it again.
As soon as he gets off his crutches, he's back in costume. Some local girls start accusing him of being a perverted flasher or rapist when they see him walking around in costume. They continue to chastise him as he tries walking away.
Dave gets knocked down by a man running from something. Some street guys yell at Dave to get out of there since this isn't any of his business and continue to beat the crap out of the guy. Knowing that this is why he is here, he smacks two of the gang dudes in the head with his batons. The third gets it right in the face. Dave yells at the crowd to call the police but they just stand and watch. One of the guys smashes Dave in the back with a garbage can.
More people arrive. Dave continues to put up a fight and is taking his share of punches too. The crowd just stares in disbelief. Soon they decide to leave figuring he's too crazy and the beating they're getting is not worth it.
The crowd goes nuts over his heroic act. Dave's teeth are smashed, his ribs are cracked and his eyes are practically swollen shut. The man he saved barely manages to get out a "Thank you" to him. During all this, a kid with a cell phone managed to video the whole thing and says it's going straight up on YouTube.
Appearances
DaveMr. Lizewski
Creators
Dean White ( colorer )Chris Eliopoulos ( letterer )
John Romita Jr ( penciler )
Mark Millar ( writer )
John Barber ( editor )
Latest Reviews
Ok. I gave this comic a try because I like the JR Jr and because it is something different. Overall, this book rules. What the hell do you think would happen if you were a scrawny kid in friggin spandex? You would get your ass kicked. And it wouldn't be an "oh my god! he was shot by a laser that knocked him out!" It would be a "HOLY FUCK!!! That skinny fuckin psycho got beaten, stabbed, and hit by a car!!!!!"
If I would have written the comic, he would have died in issue one. That would have been it. But, this issue is great in that it goes deeper into the duties of a son. Kick Ass wants to do his thing, but he knows that he is still his father's son; he is still a part of his dead mother that his father holds on to. It is touching.
Spoiler666 This issue, also deals with Kick Ass' first victory. You can't help but to get up n scream "HELL YEAH" rooting for this little puss.
Sorry, I am drunk..
Drunken death
Got to say that I like this issue as much as the first as the book does what it says on the title. Dave recovers from his near crippling first attempt at vigilantism and goes at it again but this time he gets to walk away, minus some teeth and a pint of blood, but hey it's still a win.
It is interesting to see that Millar didn't skim over his recovery thus giving weight to Dave's action and the effect that it has on those around him, notably his Dad, who must either have the best insurance in the world or will soon be very broke. The rehab sequence I thought made Dave more real as he is just a self centered kid who know that what he is doing is wrong, but just does it anyway whatever the consequences. So I was not surprised by the quick return to crime fighting because it a way this is what makes him feel special and makes him look like he cares for others. In reality he is more than a little emotionally withdrawn and it will be interesting to see how this is played out.
My only complaint is that I hope this does not fall into some self parody, a la Die Hard, and that some of the elements don't become a little overused, like the amount of damage he received and recovers from. I also hope that the coming issues don't all follow the two act formula of introspection then rib breaking but as long as JRJR in on the art I'm in for the ride.
I gave this book the ol' "two issue try" and I hate to say it, it sucks. I really like the people involved in this book, but it seems Marvel decided to let Millar off his leash and told him, "Be more like Ennis". I guess that means cuss every other word. That's all I see when I read this book, swearing. I'm not offended by any means, it's just completely unrealistic. Yes, I know, it's a comic... But dialogue should be realistic in any comic. I've spent a few years in what some would call, a "rough neighborhood", in the wonderous city of Chicago and no one I've ever bumped into, no matter how mad they are, swore that much.
It's too over-the-top and a waste of great talent.
Who wants to be a superhero? Well, I guess you do...you hide that feeling from everybody you know, but deep inside, there's that thing whispering in your ear, saying that you'd like to have that kind of life for yourself. But after you read this comic book, you'll probably change your mind about it. In this issue, Dave is facing odds that some would thought impossible to. This is logical, since having one's ass kicked as badly as his was is not something that one would easily take. The ordinary citizen would just quit right there. But not Dave...I guess he's too stubborn to quit like that. That voice whispering in his ear is too stubborn as well, because it really convinces him to get hurt in order to help people who he's never met in his life This issue was a great demonstration of Millar's imagination in creating a world that is full of violence, greed, hatred and people who don't care about those things at all and fear each other as heck, just like ours. If you haven't read Kick-Ass yet, give it a try. After all, it's not every day that we see our world's cruel identity reflected so clearly in comic books.
